After several hours of discussion with the Princess, Ken was finally able to wind down. He was still in the meeting room with Twilight and Aria, but he was able to relax now that the two were talking amongst themselves about matters that didn't concern him. Subconsciously he listened to them, but his mind was elsewhere.

Some of his memories had come back to him since he took hold of the cards. He knew that he had gone on a journey to find the cards and that he had used them before. He remembered presenting them to someone, though her face was clouded. Much of his memory was still a blur, but he remembered the cards.

"Ken?" The sound of his name snapped him back into reality. He blinked at Aria and tilted his head in slight confusion. "We were asking what you thought about this."

"About what?" He asked, clueless.

"There are rumors of assassins attacking the castle in Canterlot. Princess Cadence sent me a letter telling me that there was suspicious activity the last she was there. I would like to hear your opinion on this, and I'd like your insight." Twilight told him.

This caught Ken off guard. Never in his time in Equestria had the princess wanted his insight on anything. She had ponies for that, and they were usually the Elements. At present, the other five were off doing what they usually did. Nothing he had done warranted his opinion.

"If she thinks that somethings up, there probably is. Her husband was the captain of the royal guard, so he more than likely saw it first." Ken shrugged. He wasn't an expert on these things, nor did he have any combat experience that he knew of. "Besides, why would you ask me? I'm a nobody. I couldn't tell whether or not there are."

"And that's why I'm sending you to the palace. Partly because I want you to look into this for me, but mainly because I received word that the Princesses would like to see you on the matter of these cards." She told him. Ken slumped and groaned lowly. If it wasn't for a summons, he wouldn't have anything to do with the diarchy. He preferred to stay out of royal business.

"Oh, don't be that way, Ken. Hey, at least you'll get to see Princess Luna." Aria gave him a sly smile, causing Ken's face to light up with color. He crossed his arms and gave her an angry stare. He knew she was joking, yet it was the way she said it. Ken shook his head and looked away.

"I'll go. Not like I have a choice in the matter." He huffed, unfolding his arms and leaning back in the chair again. Twilight gave him a nod of approval before turning back to Aria. "I've gotta make a run by Rarity's place before I leave. She should have my clothes ready by now."

With that, Ken stood and left the meeting room. As he left he nodded to Silent Meadow, who was polishing the floor. She smiled at him and resumed working. After descending the flight of stairs and making his way outside, Ken noticed that the sun was still high in the sky. He stood there for a moment, soaking up the light.

Before long, he made his way to Rarity's boutique, opening the door and letting the bell chime throughout the main room.

"Just a moment!" He heard the unicorn say from the other room. This gave him a chance to look around for once. Everywhere he looked, there were dresses and suits meant for ponies. Ken shook his head at all of them. Every suit or dress he looked at seemed to be a commission from some big-name pony.

After having stared at Rarity's work for a good five minutes, Ken caught sight of her out of the corner of his eye. When he turned to her, she was wearing her trademark glasses and had a notepad floating next to her.

"Oh, Ken, here for your order I imagine?" She asked him, giving a polite smile. "I finished it not but a few minutes ago." This was punctuated by said order floating in, wrapped in a gentle blue glow. What he had requested from her was simple yet effective. A deep red shirt, paired with black pants. Along with them came a cloak that would hang at his shoulders, and its thin but insulating lining evident.

"I hope it's to your liking. You didn't give me much detail, so I didn't have much to go off of." She said, hovering the clothes over in front of him. He took hold of the shirt and worked his thumb into it.

"Do you mind if I try them on?" He asked, looking up at her hopefully.

"Of course! I have curtains for a reason, darling." Rarity led him to one of the curtains, laid the clothes on a bench, then pulled the curtains closed with her magic. Without delay, Ken pulled his clothes off and put the new ones on. The shoes he had were fine for the moment, and he slipped them back on after his pants. The cloak was the last to drape around him. Its dark fabric hung down to his ankles, swaying slightly. He pulled the hood up and walked out to face Rarity in his new clothes.

Her first reaction was to look him up and down. Then her eyebrows drew down in what seemed to be confusion. Though Ken couldn't discern between confusion and judgemental, what with her looking to and from other designs.

"I like it. It fits well, and it's comfortable." Ken offered to her, a consoling look on his face. She didn't seem to hear him, still staring at a dress across the room. He blinked a few times before looking at the dress.

It was relatively plain, a sunrise orange with a deep red sash around the middle. What caught his eye was the heart-shaped cut of amethyst in the center of the chest. It sparkled in the sunlight, drawing him in. The gen was mesmerizing. Pulsing with a purple glow, Ken felt compelled to walk towards it and pick it up.

"Master Ken!" A voice yelled at him, snapping him out of his daze. He realized he had his hand almost on the again. "Do not touch it! It will draw you in and trap you in it!" Ken jerked his arm back and shook his head to clear it. His vision cleared and he looked at Rarity. She was dangerously close to the gem.

Without thinking, Ken grabbed her and pulled her away. Her eyes were glazed over still when he set her down away from the main room.

"What in the fuck?" He said more than asked. His breathing was fast, his heart threatening to burst from his chest. "Rarity, where did you get that gem?" Ken asked her. For a long moment, she didn't answer, still dizzy from being pulled away from the gem so suddenly. Once she had gotten her bearings, she shook her head.

"It was a gift from Spike. He told me I could use it however I wanted." She told him. This made Ken blink several times, the cogs in his brain turning. The gem seemed to draw anyone in that gazed at it, but if Spike had been able to touch it without it sucking him in as Izanagi had told him it would. This meant that dragons were immune to the effects of the curse on the gem.

Ken's eyebrows drew down in thought. He had to figure out a way to safely get the gem out of the boutique without it drawing anyone in. If he was able to move it with telekinesis he would. The only problem was that he didn't know-how.

"Izanagi, are you able to make a barrier around the gem so I can move it?" Ken asked out loud. For a moment he heard nothing. After a few moments, he heard an affirmative hum in his head. He let out a relieved sigh before looking back at Rarity. "Stay in here until you hear the door close, alright? I'm gonna get that gem out of here before it can hurt anyone else."

Once Rarity had nodded, he steeled himself and walked into the next room. With his eyes closed, he could hear the magic that Izanagi used and formed around the gem. An image came into his mind of a dragon nodding and Ken opened his eyes afterward. The gem now had a deep red glow around it and was still attached to the dress. It was a wonder how Rarity had gotten it onto the dress without getting pulled into it. A question for another time.

He stepped up to the gem and reached out towards it. In the back of his mind, he could feel the urge to touch it and be pulled in by it, but he refused to give in to it. Even though he knew that Izanagi had put a barrier around it, it was still unsettling. He steeled himself again and grabbed the gem.

Nothing happened when he grabbed it. Although, it was as if the magic that was tied to the gem was trying to escape and pull him into it. The glow around it pulsed a few times before it died down, seeming to have given up. He still didn't trust it. It had almost gotten to him once, and he wasn't going to let it get to him again.

He let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding. With a steeling of his nerves, he turned towards the door and stepped towards it. By the time he reached it, he was almost running. The door slammed open and he pulled it closed again. There wasn't much time for resting as he began to run towards the castle again.

Ken noticed that while he was running, he was faster than he remembered. The weight of his clothes was a lot less than that of the ones he had been transported in. A trivial matter, and one to bring up later. It only helped him reach his destination easier. He was approaching the Ponyville castle quickly and he was considering stopping for the door, but it would take too much time. He looked up and saw Twilight with her back turned to the balcony, apparently speaking to someone.

When he looked back down, there was a whole other place through a portal. He wasn't able to stop in time to not go through and once he was through, it vanished. He looked around and found himself in the Grand Hall at the castle in Canterlot. Ken let out a sigh at this. From where he had stopped, he straightened and dusted himself off a bit. Once he was done, he dropped into a formal bow.

In front of him sat the three princesses and Shining Armor. The royalty had summoned him for some reason or another, and he was going to find out why soon enough. For the moment, he figured he might as well be formal.

"Princesses. An honor to meet with you again. If I may ask, why have you summoned me on such short notice? I was to leave tomorrow morning for the train station." He said, not straightening from his bow. They did not answer, though he felt the four sets of eyes on him. He blinked and raised his head, seeing that Shining Armor was conversing with his wife and Luna was shifting in her seat a little. "Is there something wrong?" He asked in confusion and worry.

"Twenty," Celestia said simply. Ken looked at her with a somewhat blank stare. "Twenty soldiers found dead not half an hour ago. We were going to have you investigate tomorrow when you arrived, but you are needed now."

Ken reared at this. He wasn't mentally ready for the information dump that was just piled onto him. It hurt his head slightly, but he ignored it.

"They were murdered in a variety of ways, but the most common was of a blade of sorts. The wounds were cauterized though. We think magic is involved somehow." Celestia said. "We already have a team ready to assist you while you find out who did this. We also offer our weapons to you, should you need them."

Ken shook his head and looked at the tile floor. With all these new things, he wasn't sure if he would be able to actually find his past and uncover who he used to be. It didn't look like he was going to get much sleep any time soon.

Author's Note

Good day to all of you! I know it has been a long while since I updated this story, and I have been working on it where I can in-between work and life. Not an easy combo to find free time in, I know. However! I intend to write much more of this before I am done with it, and the chapters will hopefully be much longer as time progresses so that you have more to read between updates.

For now, I hope that all of you enjoy this chapter and will wait patiently for the next one.

My inspiration light your path,
Leon